The Adventures of Lilac & Carol - 4 Well, That's Just Crate!
by RaceProUK
Summary: Lilac tells a tale of a Kingdom Stone temple trip that didn't quite go according to plan… [Set between Lilac & Carol leaving the Red Scarves and the arrival of Brevon's Dreadnought]


I woke up late in the morning, a little surprised; I normally wake up earlier. Still, I was definitely awake before Carol; I could hear her gently purring in the bunk below me. Even though we were planning to go to Relic Maze today to procure more funds, I decided to let her sleep, and have a bit of time to myself. The crowd's always a little on the thin side in the morning anyway. And we're not running _that_ low on funds; we're still good for a month or so.

I climbed out of bed, dressed for the day, and went to make an early lunch. After eating, I headed out onto the balcony; the air was a little chilly, but thankfully it was dry. The stiff morning breeze was ruffling the tops of the trees; it provided a pleasant backing to the birdsong.

Ten minutes later, I decided it was time to wake Carol. I returned to the bedroom; she was still purring away. "Carol?" No response; I nudge her shoulder gently. "Carol? Time to get up!"

"Hmm… five more minutes…" Carol murmurs.

"Don't you want to go to the Kingdom Stone temple and steal some crystal shards today?" I continued; Carol's eyes opened wide with excitement.

"Then what are we waiting for?" she chimed, leaping out of bed and dashing to the den; she returned a moment later. "Maybe I should get dressed first…"

"I'll meet you outside."

"No sneaky headstarts!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" I retorted with a smile. "And be sure to grab something to eat too."

Fifteen minutes later, Carol joined me at the foot of the treehouse ladder; she was munching on a sandwich.

"Who's gonna win this time?" I asked.

"Me!" Carol replied, grinning with confidence.

"You can try!" I winked back.

Carol finished her sandwich, mounted her bike, and started the engine.

"Ready!" I called over the low growl. "3! 2! 1! _Go!_"

Carol launched so quickly she pulled a wheelie and took an early lead. But I knew I'd catch up easily after I unleashed my Dragon Boost!

Our race was fast and extremely close; it was clear she'd been finding new shortcuts. But then, so had I, and at the crucial moment, I pulled ahead. And I was first to the finish line! I slid to a halt as quickly as possible, and started to turn to see where Carol was; suddenly, my feet were swept from under me, and I fell on top of something hard.

"Sorry," Carol apologised.

"Huh?" I replied. I looked around me; I found myself on top of Carol's bike, with Carol pinned underneath it.

"I didn't expect you to stop so quickly," Carol explained. "I must have locked the rear brake."

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah," Carol assured. "Just a little dirty. You OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured in return. "Just a little embarrassed at our clumsy finish."

"I hope my bike is OK," Carol murmured.

"I'm sure it is," I replied. "I should get off you," I added a moment later.

"Yep."

I stood up, and helped Carol get her bike off her. Together, we hid the bike in a nearby bush, and covered the last hundred yards to the Kingdom Stone temple on foot.

"Remember Carol, only steal from the rich," I reminded.

"Yeah, I know the drill," Carol winked back.

Together, we slipped into the temple through a back entrance to avoid the guards. On a couple of occasions, we'd been caught red-handed; as a result, the guards would stop us entering the temple. Plus a purple dragon and a green wildcat do stand out a bit. But we also knew that, once inside, we could blend in with the crowd enough to avoid detection.

Once inside, we split up to cover ground quickly. The crowds were getting larger as the afternoon began, which made our job both easier and harder; easier to avoid being caught by the guards, but harder to avoid being caught by the people we're stealing from. Nevertheless, an hour later, we regrouped in a quiet corner to see how much we'd accumulated.

"I'm a little light I'm afraid," I reported, showing Carol the few handfuls I'd gathered.

"Good thing I'm here then!" Carol grinned, opening her bag; I looked inside to see enough to last for three months!

"Nice work!" I complimented, pocketing my comparatively meagre haul. "I hope you took care to avoid being spotted."

"Course!" Carol smiled.

"She's over there, the sneaky little thief!" one of the crowd cried; the two guards she was speaking to started to come our way.

"Darn it!" Carol spat in frustration.

"Let's get out of here!" I urged; together, we ran away from the approaching guards. We weaved through the corridors and pathways, but took a wrong turn; a dead end!

"There's no way out!" Carol exclaimed.

"There!" I pointed to an open empty crate, just large enough for us both to hide in. We jumped in and sat down, Carol in front of me, and closed the lid; it clicked into place. We sat in the dark and waited.

"Can you shift back a bit?" Carol whispered. "There's no room to swing me in here!"

"Sorry," I apologised as I shifted back. "Better?"

"Yeah."

We fell silent as we heard footsteps approaching; suddenly, they stopped.

"Where'd they go?" one guard asked.

"How should I know?" the other replied.

"Carol," I whispered as quietly as possible, "can you stop with your tail? It's ticking my nose."

"It can't be my tail," Carol whispered back.

"Why not?"

"I'm sitting on it."

"Oh."

"You're not going to sneeze are you?"

"I'll try not to."

"Well, they aren't here," the first guard continued, frustrated.

"I'm not telling the general," the second declared.

"Fine," the first sighed. "Let's go."

The footsteps resumed as the guards retreated.

"_ATCHOOO!_" Darn it! I just had to sneeze! And the guards must have heard; the footsteps stopped.

"Did you hear that?" the first guard asked; his voice was faint and hard for me to hear, which gave me hope I hadn't given away our hiding place.

"Hear what?" the second asked back.

"That… sneeze, I think it was," the first explained.

"I didn't hear anything," the second countered. "Let's just go tell the general you lost the thieves, and return to duty."

The footsteps resumed, and faded into the distance.

"Phew!" Carol sighed quietly. "I thought you'd got us in trouble then!"

"Sorry," I replied.

"Let's get out of here."

"OK." I reached up to open the lid; it wouldn't move. "Uh-oh."

"What?" Carol asked.

"The lid won't open!" I explained.

"_What?_"

"It must have locked itself when I closed it!"

"So we're trapped?"

"Yeah."

"Well, _I'm_ not calling for help."

"Very well," I sighed. "_Help!_" I called a moment later. "_We're trapped in this crate!_" No answer. "_Is anyone there?_" Still no answer. "Looks like we'll be here a while," I sighed.

"I think I can hear someone coming," Carol reported fifteen minutes later.

"Are they getting closer?" I asked.

"Yes."

"I hear them now too." The footsteps got louder; before long, they were loud enough to mean someone must be near the crate. "_Help!_" I called. "_We're trapped in this crate!_"

"_And it's all Lilac's fault!_" Carol added.

"Oh, it's you two, is it?" a voice replied.

"General Gong!" I exclaimed.

The lid clicked open; we were temporarily blinded by the wash of light. "You usually make it a lot harder than this!" the general chuckled. "And don't think about jumping out; my guards are here to make sure you stay put."

"You mean you're leaving us in here?" Carol asked in dismay.

"Until sunset, as punishment," the general confirmed. "Don't worry; I'm leaving a couple of guards to ensure you're not disturbed. And if you need anything, just ask them; they'll make sure you don't go hungry or thirsty. Meanwhile, I'll be returning those crystal shards to their rightful owners," he added as he took the bag. The lid was closed again, and the lock clicked into place.

"May as well get comfortable," I sighed as I settled down to snooze.

"Surely he can't leave us here?" Carol asked; her attempts to open the lid proved futile.

"He can and he is," I confirmed. "No point in wasting energy."

"Darn it!"

"Just relax and sleep. You like sleeping."

"Not inside a crate barely big enough for Gong's big belly!"

"There's enough room," I chuckled. "I don't mind you laying on me. It's only fair; it's my fault we're trapped."

"Fine," Carol sighed, settling down on top of me. "At least it's safe and warm."

"We'll be out before you know it. And I'll buy you a really big plate of sushi in Shang Tu before we head home."

"That's not fair!" Carol chuckles. "You know I can never stay angry when you buy me sushi! Pity we lost the loot though."

"I still have my takings," I whispered as quietly as possible. Even though it was dark, I knew Carol was grinning; I could hear her purring softly.

We slept through the rest of the day. True to his word, General Gong let us go at sunset, and true to my word, I bought Carol the biggest plate of sushi in the whole of Shang Tu.


End file.
